2014•01•31     Bonn

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, met with United Nations (UN) staff at the UN Campus in Bonn today.

The UN in Bonn consists of 18 agencies and spans a vast area of work of the United Nations, including climate change, land desertification, global volunteerism, water, energy, endangered species, human security, health, biodiversity, tourism, education and skills development, peace, sustainability, disaster risk management and satellite-based information systems.

Regardless of the size of each agency housed at the UN Campus, the organizations in Bonn all strive for an inclusive, holistic sustainable future for all.

The Secretary-General, accompanied by his wife Mrs Ban, met with the Heads of all UN organizations in the historic “Langer Eugen” building, followed by an all staff townhall in the newly sustainably refurbished “Altes Abgeordnetenhochhaus”.

The 18 heads of agencies, in their 30 minute meeting, thanked the Secretary-General for his steadfast commitment in taking the UN mandate forward. The Secretary-General emphasized the top priorities, as leaders in the United Nations, as achieving the Millennium Development Goals, creating new Sustainable Development Goals and working with Member- States for a binding agreement on climate change for the world´s future generations.

On the walk between the two buildings on the UN Campus, the Secretary-General spoke with a group of dedicated young UN Youth Volunteers and interns from Japan, Brazil, France, China, Korea, Zimbabwe, Latvia and Spain who are making a positive contribution to global peace and sustainable development within the United Nations.

In a packed audience of UN staff members, the energy and excitement of being addressed by the Secretary-General was almost tangible. People, from every corner of the world listened, as the Head of the UN spoke of how important their contribution is to world peace and development. The Secretary-General made it clear to the crowd that this is not an easy time to be serving the world’s biggest international organization. But it was evident in the exchange of questions and answers that Ban Ki-moon leads a group of dedicated international staff in Bonn who are committed to tackling the most difficult issues of our time.

The United Nations (UN) has had offices in Bonn since 1951. In the summer of 2006, the UN Campus was officially inaugurated by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.

2013 was another land-mark year for the UN in Bonn. The „Altes Abgeordnetenhochhaus“, which used to house the offices of Parliamentarians, became part of the United Nations territory in Germany and the government clarified that two further historical buildings in the direct proximity will be part of the UN Campus in the future.

From a hand full of staff, the UN presence in Bonn has grown steadily since 1996 and has become a UN family with an international staff of almost 1,000 colleagues.

For photos of the visit of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the United Nations in Bonn, please click here.

For general information on the 18 organizations located at United Nations in Bonn, please click here.

For the UNV article on the Secretary General’s visit, please click here.